At 12 years old, Mike Dominguez Jr. worked alongside his father, Mike Dominguez Sr., pushing brooms and cleaning up construction sites.
While the tasks have changed, their bond of working together hasn’t.
“It was the best thing my father could have done for me; to show me what hard work entails,” said Mike Jr. “I didn’t really see it as a chore but used it as a life lesson and after I went to college, I chose to stay in the construction business.”
His father, Mike Sr., has a similar background and also worked with his father when he was younger, learning everything from plumbing to carpentry. Now Sundt is glad to have the two of them as experienced leaders in the company.
Mike Jr. began working as a project engineer for Sundt five years ago, after his father started working for the company a year prior.
“It was the greatest move I ever made,” said Mike Jr.
Mike Sr. and Mike Jr. are project superintendents. Each of them oversees large projects in the El Paso area. In their roles, the two manage projects’ schedules, budgets and manpower, making sure to meet deadlines and milestones for owners.
“At the same time, we take into consideration the field engineers and project engineers working under us who need to learn and grow. We try to teach them everything we know,” explained Mike Jr.
Ultimately, Mike Jr. described the role as “meeting the project manager’s expectations and making sure everybody on the project team is in alignment with each other.”
“Mike Sr. and Mike Jr. bring immense expertise to every site they work on,” said Joe Riccillo, Sundt project director. Riccillo, who works very closely with Mike Sr. and Mike Jr. continued, saying, “they are born leaders and we can always trust them to go above and beyond expectations on every project. Their dedication to helping others learn and grow ensures the success of our team, and for that, we couldn’t be more grateful.”
The pair have worked on projects from the newly reconstructed Las Cruces High School to the new Medical Science II building on the campus of Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso and the Union Pacific Railroad’s fueling and intermodal facility in Santa Teresa.
“Every job to me is a challenge, and I like challenges,” Mike Sr. said.
When prompted to share their success in working together, the two stressed the importance of keeping work separate from home life and being firm in not letting one cross over to the other. According to the pair, these relationships are separate and after working together for so long, they have been able to build a successful working relationship as Sundt’s father and son team.